Midnight Hour
by Magenta Fantasies
Summary: Cobb and Boulet are assigned to catch a most unusual criminal, who despite his flamboyant costume, arrogant behavior, and odd graciousness always slips past the NOPD's best efforts. Along the way Cobb discovers a greater case, one that dates back as far as the city itself! (A crossover of K-Ville with Le Bonhomme du Minuit, a story I wrote set in post-Katrina New Orleans.)
1. Chapter 1

Of all the feelings Trevor Cobb had expected to feel, one rose above all the others: weirdness. Everything felt strange about the whole situation. He had not seen the Commissariat for years. It was far more elegant than Cobb could have imagined it to be. _The police must be better-funded than I thought they were._ Despite the destruction of New Orleans, the Commissariat looked better than ever. Elaborate Corinthian columns flanked the façade, decorative stone molding lined the edges of the roof and the windows had marble trim around them. Some of the decorations were still under construction; Cobb imagined all these things must be recent additions. The rest of the building was still a hunk of concrete and metal. In a way it was good to be here at last, but at the same time, he couldn't believe the damage he had seen coming into New Orleans. As Cobb walked down the steps of the Commissariat, a ball of stone settled in his stomach. _Coming here took me more courage than fighting in the Afghan War, and it's only day one on the job._

He glanced sideways at his partner, Marlin Boulet. He seemed like a true New Orleanais cop, devoted to the city even after Katrina, yet his dark eyes held a spark of rebellion Cobb hadn't noticed in the other police he'd seen. He decided to ease the awkward silence.

"So, what happened with your last partner?" Cobb asked. _I might as well get some idea of what I'm up against._

Boulet didn't answer. Cobb shrugged. Better to have a sullen, silent partner than an overly friendly and prying partner who ran his mouth off. Still, Boulet didn't seem like the naturally quiet sort. Something was bothering him, something bubbling beneath the surface, and it intrigued Cobb.

Boulet changed the subject. "Why did you come down here? Didn't you have enough action in Cincinnati?"

"Can't a man move where he wants? Cincinnati got old, and I wanted some new scenery."

Boulet shrugged, not entirely convinced. "I didn't say it was a bad thing. I just think it's weird. Crazy, even. The crime rate is through the roof, the rest of the country thinks we're fools and New Orleans is crumbling around us."

"Then why are you sticking around?" Cobb asked, sounding more critical than he had intended.

Boulet stopped walking. "This is my city. I'll do whatever it takes to save it."

A younger voice cut into the conversation. "So you're the new officer from Cincinnati."

Cobb stopped and turned around to face a boy dressed in a police uniform with a tennis racket and a tube of tennis balls in the pockets of his holster. He seemed too young to be an officer, about eleven or twelve years old. Boulet looked less surprised by the newcomer.

"Sammy, what are you doing in that there uniform?" Boulet asked, sounding bemused instead of annoyed.

"I was caught tagging along on one of the patrols, and they brought me back here. Papa let me off, of course." Sammy's sharp green gaze flashed to Cobb. "I heard some Yankee came all the way down here just for the honor to work for the greatest Chief of Police ever. Judging from your accent, that must be you."

"Yeah, something like that." Cobb sarcastically replied. He assumed this kid was Chief Ostinato's son. The resemblance was striking: both had the same golden complexion and wavy black hair that swept across their foreheads from beneath their hats. Sammy was very tall for his age, almost at eye level with Boulet, and the chief stood at 6'7". Both had the same sharp features, but while the chief's eyes were ice blue, Sammy's were emerald green. _He's also got the same ego._ Cobb thought back to the grandiloquent introduction and tour he had received from the chief. The man couldn't stop talking about himself and his achievements, and while Cobb found it impressive that Chief Ostinato had closed every single one of his cases within a week for twenty years, it got tiresome to hear after a while. For the whole tour the chief boasted about all the renovations, both functional and aesthetic, he had installed on the building. Cobb looked up at the opulent decorations. _It's too much for me. This is supposed to be a commissariat, not a five-star hotel._

"I'm Sammy Ostinato, by the way." Sammy placed emphasis on "Ostinato". "The chief is my papa, and someday I'll be the chief of police, too. In fact, I'll be an even better chief than him."

Boulet nodded, obviously humoring him. "I'm sure you will. Have a good day."

Sammy cast one last glance at Cobb, then headed into the Commissariat.

"I bet the chief's got his hands full with that one," Cobb remarked.

Boulet laughed; it was the first positive emotion Cobb had seen him show. "That's an understatement." Moments later he became serious again, and a little annoyed. "Anyways, Embry said I should show you around New Orleans."

 _I don't think I'm ready to be cooped up in a patrol car with him for hours._ "I'll get familiar with New Orleans on my own, but thanks."

"Believe me, this wasn't my idea. Embry ordered me to," Boulet replied.

* * *

(It only occurred to me _today_ that this story doesn't have a title. I'll have to see what I come up with. Good titles usually come to me at the most unexpected moments. I can't just brainstorm them.)

This is one of those very rare times where I find an old story idea and then revisit it. Ironically, it happened to be connected with Le Bonhomme du Minuit, which was an instance of me reviving an old finished story. It's very timely too, since Hurricane Katrina struck about ten years prior to now.

I plan to upload the parts, one a day, over the next week. I haven't been this active in ages!

The idea of writing a cross-over occurred to me as soon as I started watching K-Ville, which was in late 2013. Some things are just meant to be cross-overs, and this was one of them. The combination of New Orleans' most devoted cops versus New Orleans' most notable criminal was a must for me.

K-Ville was a criminally underrated show that had plenty of potential, then sadly died out in its first season. Unfortunately FOX doesn't air re-runs (even though it would be extremely timely), and we'd be very lucky to get a DVD release of the incomplete first season. There are few legitimate sites where you can find the episodes online, and I believe Hulu is one of them (or at least it used to be; I haven't seen K-Ville on there for a year or so but I haven't looked too hard).


	2. Chapter 2

Cobb looked out the window of the police cruiser as Boulet drove around the Vieux Carré. Though Cobb wasn't sure if he liked his new partner or not, at least he enjoyed the scenery. Some things seemed familiar, and others were distorted by Katrina's damage. It was like looking at New Orleans through a shattered lens.

Boulet spoke up. "I heard earlier today that $100,000 was recently confiscated from a crime scene. It must've been quite the bust. Now instead of looking into that, I have to give you a tour around New Orleans."

Cobb shrugged. "I guess Embry wants me to be familiar with New Orleans' streets." Captain Embry was the captain of Cobb and Boulet's division. He'd had the same passionate stance that Boulet had about restoring New Orleans, only he had been more vocal about it. "New Orleans will rise again, someday, no matter how hard we have to work," Embry had said. "Now get started on that. Boulet will get you acquainted with the city."

Cobb turned to Boulet. "So where was the $100,000 confiscated from? That's a lot of money, especially in New Orleans."

Boulet shrugged. "I don't know. That's all Love Tap and Glue Boy told me."

Cobb blinked. "Love Tap? Glue Boy? Those are some nicknames."

"It's a long story. Anyways, while they're looking into the details of the crime, I'm stuck here with you." Boulet uttered the last sentence with a tinge of annoyance.

For minutes Cobb looked out the window as Boulet kept driving. The sound of a distant brass band eased the awkward silence. Cobb put his head close to the open window, savoring the sound. _It feels nice to be back in New Orleans. I forgot how musical it was, with the sound of jazz filling the streets._

"So one thing we're expected to do on patrol is checking to see if street musicians have the proper permits, and if they don't, hit them with a fine. It sounds silly, but the chief insists on it. He says it keeps the streets clean but I think he really means it raises funds for the police department."

Again, Cobb focused on the passing street signs. Seeing the restaurant sign for Ziggy's reminded him that he hadn't had gumbo in years. _That's one more thing I'm looking forward to._ Up the street he saw a wooden sign with purple and smoky gray letters reading "Shrine in the Shade: Mysticism and Local Mythology". The Vieux Carré had always attracted its share of oddballs: costumed street performers, fortune-telling stands and voodoo shops lined the banquettes. It was a relief to see the hurricane hadn't taken that away.

The car slowed down and in one graceful turn of the wheel, Boulet parked it parallel to the curb. "For instance, there's one."

"One what?"

Boulet rolled his eyes. "Were you listening to anything I said? I spotted one of those street performers who I don't think has a permit." He pointed at a female saxophonist in a purple and white outfit.

"How you can tell from here?" Cobb asked. "She doesn't look different from the rest of the musicians." While some of the street musicians dressed in costumes, this girl wore normal clothes: a white denim jacket over a lavender and white polka-dotted tank top, a ruffled purple miniskirt and purple cowboy boots.

"You get a sense for these things once you've been in New Orleans long enough," Boulet replied as he closed the door. Cobb didn't bother to argue. He hadn't warmed up to Boulet yet, but at least Boulet seemed to know what he was doing.

"Mam'selle, do you have a permit?"

The girl turned around, her long dark blonde curls fanning around her shoulders and saxophone. She was considerably pretty, with a curvaceous figure and light gray eyes contrasting against her tanned skin.

The girl smiled. Cobb noticed that she had a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye. "I do, officer."

Her saxophone appeared to be an antique, with its bronze-gray color and elaborate metalwork. A few red jewels were embedded into the key covers. An unusual symbol on the neck of the saxophone caught Cobb's attention. Two long curved prongs stuck off both the left and right sides, and the lowers prong were longer and thinner. The two lower prongs met at a point on the bottom. The symbol was topped by a shorter, three-pronged tip.

Boulet lightly elbowed him. "Don't go ogling girls on the job," he whispered.

"I was staring at her saxophone," Cobb retorted in a whisper. It was true; he hadn't paid any attention the fact she was clutching it against the cleavage of her well-developed chest.

Boulet looked at the girl again. "Can you show us your permit?" Cobb suspected that she was bluffing, and that Boulet knew this as well as he did, but wanted to give her a fair chance to explain herself.

"I would, but I have to go get it."

"Where is it?" Boulet asked.

"I left it in my car." She took a few steps backwards.

"I don't think so," Boulet replied, stepping back to match her.

"I'm not going far. It's right over there." The girl pointed in the direction Boulet and Cobb had come from. In the seconds they turned around to look, she bolted into the crowd that had just crossed the street. When Cobb and Boulet turned around, she had disappeared.

"Where'd that girl go?" Boulet muttered, looking around the street.

"There she is!" Cobb spotted her purple miniskirt fluttering as she disappeared behind the corner of a building. Boulet kept pace with Cobb as he ran down the banquette. The stoplight changed to red as they approached the street, but they hurried across, weaving their way past the honking cars. Cobb admitted he was impressed with Boulet's determination; he hadn't expected his partner to run through traffic along with him. _Maybe Boulet isn't as stuck-in-his-ways as I thought._

Up ahead he could see the girl as she cast a fearful glance over her shoulder. The gap between her and them was closing with each second. She darted through a bar's open door and disappeared from view. A moment later, Cobb and Boulet followed her in. Cobb looked around at the small wood tables. The paint on the metal chairs was chipped and worn, and only a few were occupied. It was the middle of the day, so Cobb wasn't surprised. However, the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Did she go back out the door again?" Cobb asked.

"That's a classic trick, but I've been watching this here door this whole time," Boulet replied. "I didn't see anyone leave."

Boulet looked at one of the waiters, who had a shocked expression on his face. "Did you see a girl with a saxophone run in here a moment ago?"

The waiter's hand shook as he pointed towards the back. "Yeah, she just-"

"You cops keep out of this." The bartender came out from the bar and scowled at them. "And keep out of my bar, too."

"We're looking for a young musician who didn't have a permit-" Cobb began.

Boulet leaned in to whisper to him. "This guy doesn't cooperate with the police much. I've had to deal with him before. Let's just look in the back." Without another word, Boulet made his way to the back of the bar. After a second's hesitation, Cobb followed him.

The bartender glared at them, outraged. "What are y'all doing? This is my bar! Y'all can't just go snooping around."

Cobb felt a brief spark of admiration for Boulet. _He does what he has to, not what protocol says to do._ They looked around the back area, among the storage boxes and supplies, but they didn't find anything.

"Maybe she's hiding in the bathroom?" Cobb suggested. It was the only place they hadn't checked yet.

"Let's check," Boulet replied as he knocked on the grimy door labeled "Women." "NOPD. Open the door." A moment later, the bartender ran over to them.

"Didn't I already tell y'all to get out of here?!"

"Once we've got our girl." Boulet walked into the women's bathroom with Cobb following a step behind. Both the stalls were open, and no one was in them. On the wall opposite from the door was an open window large enough for a person to escape through.

Cobb stuck his upper body through the window and looked outside. The window led to a back alley with a couple filled trash cans along the walls and garbage scattered on the ground. The alley was empty and there was nowhere to hide.

Cobb sighed as he moved back through the window. "That girl's long gone."

"Good for her," the bartender interjected. "I've had enough of the New Orleans police. The crime rate rises higher and higher each day, and instead of stopping street crime, y'all spend millions decorating the commissariat and chasing that Feline Thief around. If the rumors about the 'anonymous cash donations' that happen every now and then are true, I think he might be doing more good for the city than y'all. Y'all are impractical, inept-"

"Don't you _dare_ insult the NOPD!" Boulet exploded. Cobb took a couple steps back, surprised by Boulet's outburst. Even the bartender had flinched. "Half the police took off after Katrina, and we're doing everything we can to enforce the law. The pay is horrible and our reputation is even worse. My wife wants to leave with my daughter for Atlanta, and I have to argue with her every night so that we can stay here to save New Orleans. We police risk our lives every single day so that New Orleans and its people, even ungrateful jerks like _you_ , can recover."

Silence filled the room. After a long, tense moment, Boulet stormed out of the bar. Cobb kept a few feet away from him until they were both in the car. The silence followed them out into the car, and remained as Boulet drove away.

Cobb didn't mind the silence. After Boulet's display it was relieving, like pouring cold water on a sunburn. There was something mentioned in the conversation that had caught his attention, but he refrained from asking Boulet. It would be at least another couple hours before he cooled down.

 _There was something else that intrigued me, too._ Cobb thought back to the symbol on the girl's saxophone. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but something told him this symbol was more than just a decoration. It held some kind of meaning. The saxophone was an antique, at least a hundred years old. That symbol had to have some kind of story behind it.

* * *

Here we get to meet Jasmine, one of the two main protagonists in _Le Bonhomme du Minuit_. She doesn't get to do much in this story as I would like. This is because this crossover is a prequel to _Le Bonhomme du Minuit_ , and at this point Jasmine has not yet met C Major and gotten involved in his crimes. You'll see plenty of references, some subtle and some not, to events, characters, et cetera, from _Le Bonhomme du Minuit_ ,peppered throughout this story. Here you start to get more of these.


	3. Chapter 3

Cobb walked into the Commissariat locker room. It was always a hive of activity, but today it was swarming. As Cobb went to his locker, he wondered what the commotion was about. He heard a snippet above the crowd, and recognized the speaker as Glue Boy. "I can't believe that money was stolen so quickly. Wasn't it just confiscated a couple weeks ago?"

"What money?" Cobb asked.

Love Tap turned around and frowned as she saw Cobb. "I'd think you of all people in here would know about it."

 _What's that supposed to mean?_ Cobb wondered. On the other side of the room he spotted his partner and walked over. Boulet looked up from his conversation and gave Cobb a brief nod of acknowledgement before conversing with an officer Cobb didn't recognize.

"As I was saying, I think he's got someone on the inside," the officer commented, giving Cobb a look from the corner of his eyes.

Boulet looked uneasy for a moment, as if unsure how to respond.

"Boulet, what's going on here?" Cobb asked. He knew now would be a good time to step into the conversation.

"Do you remember the $100,000 that was confiscated a couple weeks ago?" Boulet asked. "This morning, the locker was found empty. But it gets weirder. In its place was a magnolia with one of C Major's calling cards inside."  
"Who?"

"Feline Thief C Major," Boulet continued. "You've been in New Orleans for half a month and haven't heard of him yet?"

Cobb shrugged. "Who the heck is he?"

"He's a very unusual thief," Boulet explained. "He dresses in a costume resembling a tuxedo cat, and commits all sorts of thefts around New Orleans. Some of them for are typical valuables, like jewels or museum artifacts and others are real strange. A while back there was a newly-discovered bird species housed at the Audubon Zoo and he took it. He even has the gall to announce his thefts to us and the media before they happen."

"What's the point of that?" Cobb asked. "That's like begging the police to arrest him."

"Maybe he likes the attention? That would explain his costume and his calling cards. At every theft he leaves a magnolia with a little calling card in its petals. What's even weirder is that sometimes, a while after the theft, the things he's stolen come back completely unharmed. For some reason, this happens most often with museum artifacts. If he's going to return them, I wonder why he goes through the trouble to steal them in the first place?"

Cobb was even more confused. "Why does he _sometimes_ return things? Why not all of the time or never?"

Boulet shrugged. "That's what I'd like to know."

"So how did he break into the commissariat?" Cobb wondered.

"The locker was locked, so C Major must have picked the lock. It's a top-of-the-line lock, but none of us know where the key is kept, not even the lieutenants, captains or the deputy. I doubt C Major was able to find the key, either. The room had a security camera, but it had been disabled."

With each explanation, Cobb only grew more confounded. "If C Major didn't want to be seen, then why did he leave a calling card to indicate the theft was his doing?"

"He always does this type of thing. I guess he doesn't like to have his actions caught on film because it would make the crime easier to investigate," Boulet replied. "What I'm curious about is how he knew about the money."

"We can worry about that later. While he was here, C Major left an announcement for his next theft," Captain Emery stated. He held up a postcard sized piece of paper and read off it. "Tonight at midnight, the Amitié Flags will fly from the Cabildo to my possession."

"That's the name for the French flag that was in Jackson Square at the time of the Louisiana Purchase, and the American flag that replaced it," Love Tap explained. "They're hanging side by side in the Cabildo museum, the site of where the purchase happened. The Amitié flags symbolize the link between America and France, and are the centerpieces of the Flag Room."

"So C Major left this announcement while he was here to steal the money from the locker?" Boulet asked.

"But how did he know about the money in the first place? Someone in the police force must have tipped him off." Love Tap looked at Cobb as she spoke.

 _Could you be a little less subtle?_ Cobb thought. He glanced at Boulet, hoping for some backup. Boulet was silent, and a thoughtful look crossed his face. _Figures he wouldn't say anything in my defense._

"Isn't it suspicious that Cobb joined the police force on the same day that the $100k ended up in our custody, and only a couple weeks later it's gone missing?" An officer that Cobb didn't know by name asked.

"Yeah, sounds mighty suspicious to me," another officer chimed in.

Cobb held back his words. Making a sharp-tongued retort would only confirm their suspicions. A more distressing thought crossed Cobb's mind. _Even if I'm found innocent, they might start to suspect other things about me, and during the investigation they might look deeper into my background. What if all my records weren't lost in Katrina? What will I do then?_

"That there's enough accusation for one day!" Embry barked. "Let's focus on how we're going to protect the flags." He motioned to half of the room. "Y'all come with me first. I want to have this planned out in groups."

As the room began to clear Boulet took Cobb aside into the next room. Before Cobb could say anything, Boulet had pinned him against the wall.

"What are you doing?!" Cobb blurted, struggling under Boulet's grip.

"There's something fishy about you." Boulet's dark brown eyes narrowed as his hold tightened.

"You think I was in on the stolen hundred grand?" Cobb threw off Boulet, ducking under his grasp. He stood up and clenched his fists, keeping them up but close to his sides.

Boulet matched his pose. "Maybe, but even aside from that, you're up to something. You claim to be from Cincinnati, but you slip into a New Orleans accent from time to time, and unlike most outsiders you don't have any difficulty understanding the dialect. Where else do people say 'banquette' instead of sidewalk? You know the streets around here as well as I do, and I've lived in New Orleans my whole life. Just yesterday you found your way to that bar deep in the CBD without any directions."

"I trained in Fort Polk, and I came down here all the time," Cobb replied, acid dripping from his voice. " _Of course_ I know the area."

Boulet wasn't convinced. "There's something else you know that you're not telling me, and I'm going to find out what."

Cobb rolled his eyes. "Like if I'm working for Feline Thief C Major?"

"Not quite. But I've got my eyes on you."

* * *

The Cabildo houses many American history artifacts, particularly from the antebellum period. In fact, it has an entire room of flags! Interestingly I decided that C Major would be stealing flags for this heist before I found that fact out. The Cabildo itself has a pretty interesting history: it has burned down twice, it was the site of the Louisiana Purchase, it has a twin on the other side of the adjacent Saint Louis Cathedral called the Presbytère, and more.


	4. Chapter 4

The Cabildo was dark, but light from signs, streetlights and the occasional car shined through the French windows. It was lighter than Cobb had expected. Him, Boulet, and Love Tap were standing in a semi-circle around the two flags, facing to the outside of the semi-circle. Glue Boy faced the window, preventing C Major from sneaking in from behind. The Amitié Flags projected from the wall, waving in the breeze from a nearby air vent. Each flag was massive; they appeared to be fifteen or even twenty feet long, and seven to ten feet high.

Cobb shook his head. "I've never heard of anything like this. So y'all can just wait for this C Major guy to show up and he'll appear at the time and place he announced? What a strange thief."

"We don't know why he does it-my guess is that he likes the notoriety-but that's the way he is," Love Tap replied, giving Cobb a cold look. It seemed she still distrusted him. "95% of the time he's true to his announcements, so now all we have to do is wait for him to show up."

"What do you mean 95% of the time?" Cobb asked.

"Sometimes he'll strike somewhere else instead," Glue Boy put in. "Or he won't show up at all."

Cobb was still confused. He had never seen anything like tonight's case. The police car had arrived at the Cabildo's front entrance to see a crowd of onlookers around the museum's exterior carrying binoculars, cameras and signs-both supporting and opposing C Major. Cobb had asked Boulet if having all these people at the crime scene was a problem. Boulet told him that the crowds never really got in the way, not that the police could keep the crowds out if they tried. Some people even saw C Major's thefts as a tourist attraction; Boulet mentioned meeting a family who'd come down all the way from Illinois to watch. Chief Ostinato had turned the presence of crowds to his advantage, allowing them to stand and watch the thefts unfold as long as they paid an admission fee to stand there and didn't obstruct the police. The police department definitely needed the funds.

Cobb looked back at the flags. Even in a room full of windows, there was no way C Major could find an opening with the police surrounding the flags this closely. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Glue Boy and Love Tap whispering. He couldn't hear their words, but he could see the occasional hostile side glances they casted at him.

Boulet checked his watch. "Hey, it's almost midnight-"

Smoke streamed up from the floor, filling the room and obscuring Cobb's vision. He held his hand over his mouth, coughing but still trying to listen.

"Get closer to the flags," Boulet commanded. "This is a classic trick: while we're blinded, C Major will take the opportunity to steal the treasure."

"I hear movement." Love Tap spoke as quietly as she could. Cobb listened. Though he didn't want to say it, Love Tap was right. C Major was somewhere nearby. Cobb readied his handcuffs, waiting for the sound to grow louder. Moments later he heard a crash, followed by the clacking of handcuffs.

Cobb recognized Glue Boy's voice. "Over here, I got him!"

Over the sound of the struggle, Love Tap spoke. "No, I do!"

Cobb heard a clack and he dove into the fray, handcuffs drawn. He could hear the other police around him, but he couldn't see them. His hands clamped around a lightly-built human form and he pinned its shoulders to the ground. Using his body and legs to hold the weight down, he felt up the arms towards the wrist and snapped on the handcuffs.

"Let's unmask him," Cobb stated, feeling for C Major's head. He felt a burst of satisfaction. Not only had he just caught New Orleans' most wanted criminal, but also he had hit it off with his coworkers. His hand felt hair, then the edge of a brim, and he pulled at it, popping it off.

A feminine voice barked at him. "Get off me!"

Cobb blinked. The smoke began to clear, and he could make out Love Tap's curly brown hair. A realization struck him and he looked down. Smoke swirled around his hands, but he could just make out the midnight blue shoulders of Love Tap's uniform. Cobb tried to stand up, but he fell to the wood floor in an ungainly heap. He jumped up, but was pulled down again. _What's happening here?_

"I can't get up!" Boulet grunted. Cobb heard Boulet try to stand up, before crashing down moments later. The smoke was fading, and now Cobb could see the problem. "Boulet, both your wrists are handcuffed."

Love Tap tried to move her left hand, but Boulet's right hand was attached. Her elbow bent as she tried to move her right hand, but Glue Boy's left wrist was handcuffed to it. Cobb felt his wrist jerk as Boulet moved his left hand. Then Cobb glanced at his left hand; it was handcuffed to Glue Boy's right hand. All four of the police were handcuffed to each other's wrists, forming a circle on the ground a few feet away from the flags, but not surrounding them like before. Two new flags waved above them. One had a photograph of a magnolia with a small card tucked inside the petals. The other had a cat shaped like a G clef with a scale of eight ascending notes to its right. Above it was the phrase "Thank you".

"He took the Amitié Flags!" Cobb realized. In the handcuff chaos he had completely forgotten about the flags. In the fading smoke, he swore he could see a wide Cheshire Cat grin, before it vanished a moment later through a broken window.

"You were in on this!" Love Tap snapped at him. "While C Major distracted us with the smoke, you handcuffed all our wrists together."

"Now's not the time to argue," Boulet butted in. "We need to get out of these here handcuffs so we can radio Captain Embry and tell him what happened."

Love Tap nodded. "Boulet, if you lift your right hand at the same time that I lift my left, we can move together and take the radio out of my belt."

"Okay," Boulet replied. Cobb noticed his partner seemed pleased that the argument had ended so quickly. Boulet and Love Tap lifted their hands in synchronization, moving towards Love Tap's belt. Now that they were close enough, Love Tap lifted the radio out. Together they lifted their hands up, and held the radio near Love Tap's mouth. She pressed some buttons with her thumb and began to speak into it.

"Bad news. C Major got away, but we came very close to tackling him." Love Tap paused as she listened to the reply. Cobb couldn't hear any words coming through the other end. "He tricked us and now we're handcuffed to each other. Could you send someone to help remove them?" There was another pause. "Yeah, we really thought we had him this time."

"How's the chief doing?" Cobb asked.

"Chief Ostinato hasn't seen any sign of the Feline Thief yet," Love Tap replied. "However, he said one squad saw something, but they lost him. He also said help will be here in a couple minutes."

"I'm not surprised," Boulet commented. "The chief takes C Major investigations extremely seriously. The more cops he has, the better."

A few minutes later, a policeman that Cobb didn't recognize approached the group. "Hey, y'all need my help?" He held a large chain saw in his hands. "I won't be able to get the cuffs off, but at least I can break the chains."

"That's all we need right now," Boulet's loud voice was hardly audible over the wail of the chain saw's blade. "The faster we can return to our squad car, the better."

"That's one chain down," the policeman stated. He cut the chain between Boulet and Love Tap, then the one between her and Glue Boy. Cobb flinched as the saw blade came near him again, this time cutting the chain connecting him and Glue Boy. The screech of metal filled his ears, then it faded.

Glue Boy stood up. "We're free. Let's get going."

"That was real fast. Thanks for that," Love Tap said to the chain saw policeman. The four hurried down to the ground floor, then to their car parked outside the Cabildo. They flung open the doors and climbed in. Glue Boy took the driver's seat.

"I hope we're not too far behind," Glue Boy remarked as the car sped along the streets of New Orleans, sirens blazing.

"The chief said we're closing in. Feline Thief C Major was spotted at the corner of Toulouse Street and Chartres Street just a moment ago," Boulet added.

"That sounds about right. Those flags are huge, so he couldn't have carried them too far," Cobb replied.

The car raced along, passing street-side cafés, shadowed alleys and dim roads in the misty air. It braked, lurching Cobb forward against the strap of his seatbelt. As the four police raced out of the car, Glue Boy went to the trunk.

"What's wrong?" Boulet asked. Without replying, Glue Boy opened the trunk and reached into it.

"I thought I heard something in here," he replied, with no trace of surprise in his voice. It took Cobb a moment, but he recognized the youth he had met a couple weeks ago.

"Sammy, what do you think you're doing?" Boulet demanded.

"It's a C Major case. I wanted to come along," Sammy retorted.

 _The nerve of this kid,_ Cobb thought. _He's holding us back._

"This is dangerous work," Boulet stated. "You can't just tag along without asking. What if something bad happened to you? I can't imagine having to face the chief with that news."

"I'm not helpless," Sammy replied. "I've got good aim with a tennis ball. Watch this." In a second he reached into the holster of his borrowed uniform and took out a tennis ball and racquet. The ball whizzed through the air, hitting the side of a building, then bouncing into another alley where it went through the hole in the "C" of the neon lights in "Night Club" sign above Cobb, hit the opposite wall, then bounced back to Sammy's open hand.

"I'm not going to argue. Get back in that there car," Love Tap ordered.

Cobb looked up from his receiver. "We need to hurry. The radio just said that C Major is in this area."

Glue Boy sighed. "There's no time for this." Before Sammy could protest, he brusquely grabbed Sammy from under the armpits and lifted him up. Sammy let out a shrill squeak as he was grabbed,

The tween squirmed, kicking his legs. "Let go of me! Papa's going to hear about this!"

"You bet he will," Love Tap growled as she held open the door for Glue Boy. He placed Sammy into the car, still struggling, and clicked the lock.

Boulet spoke to Sammy from the outside. "Sorry, but we're hot on C Major's trail. You'll have to wait here until we're done."

Though he didn't feel sorry for Sammy himself, Cobb could understand Boulet's sympathy. Boulet had a young daughter named Tawny, and though Boulet didn't say much, Cobb suspected that his partner worried about balancing family life with his career. On a couple occasions, Boulet had brought Tawny to the Commissariat because his wife wasn't around to keep an eye on her.

As if to confirm Cobb's thoughts, Boulet spoke up. "I feel bad for that kid, being left alone all the time while the chief works. I know how much Tawny hates it when I'm not around because of work, and at least I have a wife. Mme. Ostinato died years ago."

"Isn't Tawny six or seven years younger than Sammy?" Glue Boy asked.

"She's a hundred times less of a pain," Love Tap put in.

Cobb took out his flashlight as he hurried through the streets. C Major had to be somewhere around here, and Cobb relished the opportunity to meet him more and more with each minute.

* * *

I'll admit the tone feels a bit incongruous once C Major is introduced. Le Bonhomme du Minuit is much more whimsical than K-Ville, but it deals with serious themes all the same. I tried to keep the tone in this story as close to K-Ville as possible, just with the addition of the Le Bonhomme du Minuit characters. It's written as if it's a K-Ville episode that has the LBdM characters as guest characters.


	5. Chapter 5

K-Ville & LBdM Crossover

Part 5

The police navigated the dark streets, alert for any sign of their quarry. It was late enough at night that the streets were mostly quiet. Cobb knew the apparent peace could be deceiving. This was the time where the most crimes happened.

"Feline Thief C Major can't be far from here," Cobb remarked.

Boulet agreed. "You're right. There's one thing tonight that works to our advantage: the flags C Major stole were huge. They can't be easy to flee with, so I bet he's hiding somewhere near the museum."

Cobb's flinched as something whizzed past his head. Hands on his holster, he watched as it hit the gutter of the roof above him, then bounced down an alley. It rolled to a stop and Cobb recognized the light green form. He groaned. _Oh no, not again._ Sammy stood at the opening of the alley, bouncing another tennis ball against the ground.

Glue Boy turned to face him. "How did you get out of the car?"

Sammy rolled his emerald green eyes. "Did y'all really think a child-proof safety lock could keep me off the chase?"

"Well, no," Boulet admitted. "Nonetheless, let's get you back to the car…again."

"Don't bother." Love Tap aimed a glare at Sammy. "We're closing in and we might lose C Major if we don't have enough cops around."

"The police scanner said that C Major was last sighted on a roof," Sammy put in.

"We already knew that." Glue Boy didn't look at Sammy as he replied.

"So why don't we search on the rooftops?" Sammy suggested, taking out a grappling hook attached to a sturdy rope. "I can rappel up there, no problem. It's no more than three stories."

"Because it would take longer to search on the rooftops, and it's easier to keep track of where we've searched on the ground," Boulet replied, irritation creeping into his voice. Even Boulet could only stay patient with Sammy for so long.

Love Tap motioned for them to be quiet. To Cobb's surprise, Sammy didn't object. The group walked along in silence, sometimes stopping to look in alleys or to shine their flashlights into the shadows.

A clang sounded from behind Cobb. He turned with a start, hand on his holster. Moments later, he heard the noise again. A tennis ball hit a wide gutter above the group, and bounced to the ground. Sammy hit it up again, and the ball struck, making another, slightly quieter clang.

"Cut that out! Didn't I tell you to be quiet?" Love Tap snapped.

Sammy ignored her. "Do y'all hear it?" He pointed up at the gutter. "That there sound gets quieter and quieter each time."

Glue Boy looked unimpressed. "And?"  
Sammy aimed a few feet down. This time, the clang was quieter than the last, as if something was muffling it.

"Is there something in the gutter?" Cobb wondered aloud. That was the only reason he could think of why the sound would change. If the gutter was empty, the sound would have more room to vibrate and would be louder, but if the gutter was stuffed with something, the sound would be quieter.

Boulet observed the gutter from below. "Maybe we should check."

"How astute of y'all."

The entire group looked around. Cobb didn't recognize the voice, but he knew it could only be one person.

"Get down from there! You're under arrest." Boulet commanded.

The other police were surprised by C Major's presence, but Cobb was more bewildered by his costume. When Boulet had described C Major as wearing a cat suit, Cobb had expected a skin-tight dark-colored bodysuit, not a cat-themed _five-piece suit_. C Major wore a full midnight blue tuxedo with a cream waist-length cape, gloves, and oxfords. The wide brim of his hat was folded up in the back, its pointed top poking up like ears. A gold domino mask resembling a cat covered his face. The costume made Cobb think of a Mardi Gras performer. _What kind of freak dresses up in such a flashy costume for a theft?_ Cobb thought. _Either he's brassier than a big band or he's a complete nutcase._

Sammy glared up at him. "This won't be the same as two months ago! Now I have backup."

"Tagging along again, Sammy?" Amusement tinged C Major's voice. "You really relish every chance you can to try to arrest me."

"Have you two met before?" Cobb wondered, looking at Sammy, then the Feline Thief, then back at Sammy again. He couldn't believe it, but maybe Sammy followed so many C Major cases that C Major recognized him.

C Major reacted to Cobb's accent. "So now they've sent down a Yankee to do a good ol' boy's job? Y'all really _must_ be desperate."

Cobb held his tongue. _I'm New Orleanais, born and bred. Of course, my co-workers can't know that or my cover would be blown._

"I'm surprised it took so long to get out to the Cabildo. I announced this theft two weeks ago, and I've been waiting for the police to take action. It's not as fun without y'all around trying to stop me," C Major purred.

 _Or rather, in order for his plan to work he needed the police there rather than security guards. It would be easier to confuse and disarm a group of police standing around the flags than sneaking past the guards while carrying two large flags,_ Cobb realized. _And now that we know where he hid the Amitié flags, he showed himself so that he can escape and move them somewhere else._

"We'll let you go if you give back the Amitié flags and tell us who tipped you off about the confiscated money," Boulet offered. Glue Boy shot him an incredulous look.

C Major laughed. "Let me go? You're three stories below me. I'm the one at an advantage here."

While the police were talking, Cobb looked around, trying to find a way to the rooftop. There weren't any trees tall enough to climb. In one corner of the wall he spotted part of a wrought-iron fence running from the roof to the ground. The ironwork covered the balcony on the second floor. Cobb saw that he could climb from there to the roof. He slipped into the shadows, keeping close to the wall until he was near the bottom of the fence. Digging the toes of his shoes into the elaborate ironwork, Cobb began his climb.

"And what about the money? Who tipped you off about that?" Love Tap demanded.

"What money?"

Boulet was taken aback by C Major's concise reply. "The $100,000 of confiscated money that you took from the Commissariat when you left your announcement," he explained.

C Major sounded genuinely confused. "I don't usually steal money. Relics, art and jewels have so much more style."

As Cobb climbed, he could see C Major in more detail. He was lightly-built like a dancer, and shorter and thinner than Cobb. Cobb couldn't see the Feline Thief's face in the poor light, but a whisker pattern covered the bridge of the nose on his golden mask. Gold trim lined the lapel of his jacket, matching the gold ribbon with a cream zigzag on his hat, a large gold bowtie and gold cat-eye cufflinks.

After their silence, the three police began muttering amongst themselves. "He has a point about that," Love Tap admitted. "Out of his many thefts, he's never tried to steal money or steal from a bank."

"I don't doubt that he could," Glue Boy replied.

Cobb kept to the shadows, watching for an opening. C Major, oblivious to Cobb's presence, idly twirled the flags in his hands. Cobb gritted his teeth. _C Major is in no rush to make a getaway. Who does he think he is, toying with the police like this?_

Long coattails hung from the back of C Major's swallowtail jacket, swaying gracefully around the tops of his ankles. _How impractical to have something long dangling from the back of the costume,_ Cobb thought, inching forward. _It just shows how cocky he is. Bringing him down will be more satisfying than I ever could've imagined._ By now he was close enough to see the paw-like stitching on the toes of C Major's shoes. Only eight feet further and Cobb could seize him by those arrogant coattails and pull him close enough to slap on handcuffs. With his free hand, Cobb reached for the handcuffs in his belt.

In one swift sidestep, C Major effortlessly dodged him. A split second later the coiled flag swung like a whip, slamming into Cobb. He lost his grip and tumbled down to the balcony roof below. Pressing his heels into the gentle slope, he slowed his rolling descent.

By now C Major was standing on the apex of the roof, highlighted by the glow of the city lights and the moon. He cracked the coiled flags in the air.

"We're more similar than you think. Clad in midnight blue, we do different things for the same reasons, yet we obstruct each other's goals," C Major stated. "This is my city. I'll do whatever it takes to save it." He threw down a smoke screen and vanished behind the pointed apex. Cook looked up at the rooftop as the smoke began gliding down. _There's no point in continuing the chase. When the smoke clears, we'll have no idea where he disappeared to._ A few feet above him he could see the edge of a black trash bag poking out of the roof gutter. The smoke drifted down the roof, making Cobb cough. C Major must have been planning to leave the flags in the gutter, hidden and protected by the inconspicuous black plastic, then sneak back a couple nights later to retrieve the flags when there were less police in the area.

"How dare C Major compare himself to us?!" Boulet spat. By now the ground was completely shrouded. "We're nothing alike."

 _I don't think that's what he meant._ Cobb's thoughts drifted, thinking about C Major's words. On some level he could relate. After Katrina, Cobb had been inspired to join the military to help with his police training and physical conditioning, so that he could return to New Orleans and become the best cop he could be. Perhaps C Major saw it as a duty to be the best criminal he could be for New Orleans, however warped that idea sounded to Cobb.

As the smoke began to clear, Cobb made his way down. His military training had prepared him well for climbing, and he descended the ironwork at a fair speed, even in the smoke. Behind him, he heard Love Tap's voice. "Huh? How'd this get here?"

Cobb glanced over his shoulder. In Love Tap's hand was a large white magnolia with a card stuck in it.

"Where'd you pick that up?" Sammy asked. Cobb had forgotten that Sammy tagged along with their group tonight. _At least he didn't get in the way after we found C Major._

"I didn't," Love Tap replied, baffled. "Once the smoke cleared, I saw this here magnolia in my hand. C Major must have thrown it down from the roof."

"Maybe you're his type?" Glue Boy remarked, trying to lighten the situation.

Love Tap grimaced. "Don't even joke about that."

Cobb turned to his partner. "What about you? Do you think that C Major was telling the truth? A thief who announces his thefts wouldn't have a reason to lie about committing a crime."

"Maybe," Boulet replied. "Either he's an extremely good actor or he really didn't take that 100 grand."

"That makes me wonder who did," Glue Boy mused.

…

This is by far my favorite scene in the entire story. It has the perfect blend of K-Ville and Le Bonhomme du Minuit. Writing this, I was fascinated by the idea of seeing a C Major theft from the perspective of the police. Obviously they would look at his heists with a very different viewpoint than what you can see in LBdM. I'm also happy I was was able to give Sammy a role in the investigation without overstepping the boundaries of the K-Ville characters.


	6. Chapter 6

A week had passed since Feline Thief C Major had slipped through Cobb's hands. After a couple gloomy days and nights, the police had overcome the disappointment of losing New Orleans' most famous criminal. It didn't take Cobb much time: not long after returning to the commissariat he'd heard Embry assigned him to that case to test his loyalty. Embry had ordered the other officers to keep a close eye on Cobb to see if he really was in league with the Feline Thief. According to Embry himself, Cobb had passed the test. Some police still gave him cold looks, but at least many were friendlier towards him than before.

Cobb sat back, sipping a cup of black coffee. Right now, there weren't many police in the commissariat. 10 o'clock on a Saturday morning was a quiet hour on any day, but today only Cobb and Boulet were in the office.

"You were one of the convicts that escaped when the jail flooded during Katrina, right?" Boulet stated.

Cobb froze, unable to feel even the heat of the coffee cup in his hand. _How did he find out about that?! And if he knows, who else knows?_ He took a sip of his coffee, hoping the heat would calm his nerves. Once the liquid passed his lips, he put on a straight face and turned to Boulet.

"What, no 'Hey, I need to talk with you privately?'" Cobb asked, slight sarcasm in his voice. "You always get right to the point. I like that about you."

"You didn't answer my question," Boulet replied. He took out a set of papers and thrust them towards Cobb. "We lot a lost of records when the commissariat flooded, but were able to save some of them. Not long ago I scoured the box to see if my suspicions were right, and I found this."

Cobb looked over the papers. There were pages of information on the investigation, police proceedings and the trial. As if the evidence wasn't condemning enough, there were mug shots of him.

"Trevor Cobb, charged with armed robbery," Boulet read. He looked up at Cobb. "Over a third of the police force left after Katrina. The higher-ups were so desperate for fresh cops that they were willing to loosen up on the background checks. I can understand that, but if you still are a criminal deep down, I'll turn you in without a second thought."

Cobb nodded wordlessly.

Boulet broke the awkward silence. "I'm going to get some coffee." It was clear from his tone that he wanted to give Cobb time to think over his words. He picked up the papers and walked out of the room before Cobb could say anything more.

Cobb looked back at his computer. Right now he was viewing the list of suspects in a homicide in the Garden District. The victim had been killed with a knife, but no fingerprints were found due to the rain. His wallet and bag had been left there, so Cobb suspected the motive wasn't robbery.

"Hey, Cobb." Sammy walked into the office dressed in a police uniform. It occurred to Cobb that he had never seen Sammy wear anything else. Sammy's green eyes gleamed in a way that made Cobb shiver a little. _Did he overhear any of my conversation with Boulet?_ Cobb wondered.

"Hey," Cobb replied with no emotion in his voice. He didn't look up from the computer screen.

Sammy popped up at his side. "Is this the homicide that happened on Saint Charles Avenue two days ago? You're going about this all wrong. _I_ think the culprit-"

"Why are you still here, anyways?" Cobb demanded, his patience fading.

"Papa stayed for the night as usual, so he couldn't drive me home," Sammy explained. "I woke up around 8 A.M., but he was gone again."

Cobb had seen Boulet bring his daughter Tawny to the commissariat when he was busy and no one else was around to look after her. As far as he knew, she had never been there at night. "I can see why he wouldn't want you walking home alone at night, but-"

"I can handle myself on the streets better than you think." Sammy brandished his tennis racquet. "I just didn't feel like walking home in last night's pouring rain, and it's still raining."

"So you spent the night in the commissariat?" Cobb asked, bewildered.

Sammy shrugged. "I've done it before. I sleep on the couch or on a spare cot. It's not the most comfortable place to sleep, but it's better than getting soaked."

With each moment that passed, Cobb felt another bead of sweat roll down his back. Sooner or later Sammy was going to notice his unease, so Cobb decided to beat him to the point. "Why are you so interested in me?"

"What I just overheard confirms what I've been looking into since you arrived," Sammy replied smugly. "I knew there was something fishy about you from the first day. At that point it was just intuition, but I decided to do some research myself. Whenever the commissariat was empty enough, I would sneak into the archives and offices to find out what I could about your background. Face it, you're impressed that I figured you out. It's further proof I'll make a great chief of police someday."

"So what are you going to do about it?" Cobb asked, keeping a poker face. He knew most the police wouldn't take Sammy's accusation seriously; they never thought much of anything he did unless he got into trouble. However, if some of the police _did_ believe Sammy, they might start to look into the case themselves. It was enough to have his partner Boulet know about his past, but the last thing Cobb needed was further investigation.

Sammy's green eyes glinted. "I want to make a deal with you. If you help me get police equipment and information, then I won't tell anyone about your past."

 _That's easy enough._ Cobb knew he would have to keep this partnership secret from Boulet and the rest of the police to avoid trouble. It wouldn't be too hard for him to say he had just become friends with Sammy. "Sure, but I have one question for you."

"What?" Sammy demanded.

"Why is it so important to you to stop C Major?" Cobb asked. From what he had observed, Sammy was extremely invested in catching the Feline Thief. Perhaps he had motivations other than the pursuit of justice.

"I want-" Sammy began to speak. "I-it's none of your business."

Cobb thought of a different way to get the desired answer. "How often do you see the chief?"

"Maybe once or twice a week," Sammy replied. "Why do you care?"

 _As I thought._ In spite of himself, Cobb released a small smile towards Sammy. "Well, good luck. I want to see C Major behind bars, too."

 _Sammy, you really are Chief Ostinato's son,_ Cobb thought. _You take after him in good ways and bad ways, but you have that same determination. Maybe you will become a good chief of police someday._

* * *

I really enjoy writing for Sammy as well as Cobb, so it's fun to have the two interact. However, Cobb is completely wrong about Sammy in one way, and if you read a fair bit into _Le Bonhomme du Minuit_ (from about C16-C21), you'll see exactly what this is. Don't spoil it if you've read that far.


	7. Chapter 7

_This rain needs to stop,_ Cobb mentally groaned as he boarded the streetcar along with Boulet. _Some of the roads have been flooded out, and this is one of the few working streetcar lines._ He was used to taking the streetcars to the commissariat, so it didn't make too much of a difference to him. However, Boulet always drove to the commissariat, so Cobb figured he would do his partner a favor and show him the quickest route by streetcar. The seats were filled with equally soaked passengers, and Boulet scouted for the driest seats.

"We'll be lucky if we find _any_ seats," Cobb remarked, moving farther into the streetcar. From his experience, it was always hardest to find seats at 8:00 in the morning. He moved into a lone open aisle seat while his partner continued searching. After a few seconds, Boulet sat down two seats behind Cobb, next to a skinny college-age boy reading a newspaper. The boy flinched as Boulet sat down. Cobb imagined if he wasn't in the police it would be intimidating to have a uniformed policeman sit next to him, especially if he was stuck between the policeman and the window.

The streetcar started moving. Cobb glanced out his window, but the running rain obscured his view. The world outside looked like a Surrealist painting, swirls of gray and black with splotches of brighter yellows and reds. Behind him, Boulet struck up a conversation.

"Reading about the latest C Major theft?"

The boy looked up with a start. His shoulder-length burgundy hair shook as he turned to face Boulet. A few wavy bangs crossed his pale face. After a moment he answered, "It's a good way to pass time en route to Tulane. You'd be amazed by what Feline Thief C Major can do. Using his agility, wit and flair, he can sneak through the tightest security and strongest traps. No matter how many guards or alarms there are, he always gets his prize. He may be audacious, but he's always ten steps ahead of the police. I don't think anyone could catch him."

Boulet's brow lowered. "I hope you're not one of those people who shows up at the crime scenes to cheer him on. I can't stand them. How can they root for a criminal over the police?"

"I don't come there to cheer him on," the boy replied. "Still, no one but C Major can steal with such style. It's no wonder his thefts attract so much attention."

"What is New Orleans coming to?" Boulet growled. A moment later Boulet looked back at the boy. "We came real close to catching C Major last time, and one of these days we'll have him in handcuffs. You can count on it."

The boy's olive eyes shifted from Boulet's face to the newspaper. After a few seconds, he changed the topic.

"Look here. It's great that they were able to bolster the new levy near Gentilly. With all the rain we've received lately, that'll come in handy."

"They received a massive anonymous donation in order to do it," Boulet commented, looking over the boy's shoulder at the article. "This isn't the first time I've heard about people and companies around New Orleans receiving those. I have to wonder who the donor is. Maybe the Roulade Oil Corporation? They have some mighty generous executives, from what I've heard. But these anonymous donations are always in cash. Why would a corporation leave thousands of dollars in cash instead of writing a check or wiring the money?"

Cobb continued listening to the conversation. _I've never seen that boy before, but I swear I've heard his voice. I just can't remember where._ He shrugged it off. _Maybe he just sounds like someone I know._

"I've heard rumors about C Major leaving the mysterious donations," the boy mentioned. "I'm sure he has plenty of money after all those heists. As long as someone is funding New Orleans' recovery, it doesn't matter who and how."

 _I disagree._ Cobb overheard the boy's statement but he was too far away to interject. _If it was true that the money was dirty, the recipients would have to turn it in to the police._ Boulet didn't reply for a while.

"I'd like to see New Orleans rise again," Boulet remarked, sounding most wistful than Cobb had ever heard him. "Times have been tough here since before long you were born. Since long before I was born, too. These days it's hard for most people to get by, and Katrina certainly didn't help."

"I'll just have to keep working harder, and so will you." The boy's olive eyes glinted with determination.

Rain poured in as the streetcar's door opened. The boy looked back at Boulet with a slight smirk. "See you next time." He stepped out of the window seat, bumping into Boulet, then slipped into the crowd leaving the streetcar.

Cobb moved to the empty seat next to Boulet before any boarding passengers could take it. Boulet gazed towards the streetcar's door as it closed, not saying a word.

"Hey." Cobb snapped him out of his trance.

Boulet blinked twice. A moment later he looked at Cobb and replied, "I feel like I've met him before, but I can't recall where."

"Funny, I had the same feeling," Cobb replied. "I think it's just that I've probably heard his voice on this streetcar before. I use this route real often, so he probably does, too."

"Most likely. I find it weird that he said he was going to Tulane, but he got off at South Broad Street. We're not even at the commissariat yet, and Tulane is almost two miles southwest of there."

...

...

The rain continued throughout the day. It was past noon, and the sky was just as dark as in the morning.

"Anyone want to do a lunch run?" Boulet asked. "I could really go for a po'boy right now."

"I'd appreciate some lunch too," Love Tap put in. "It's almost one o' clock."

Glue Boy looked up from the folder he was reading. "I did the lunch run last time. It's your turn, Boulet."

Boulet sighed. "All right. But whoever goes next time has to go twice in a row." He got out of his chair. As he stood up, Cobb saw something fall from his back pocket. A piece of paper no larger than a postcard landed on the floor.

Boulet turned around at the noise and knelt down to look at it. Cobb could only see the blank back, but from the shock on Boulet's face, he knew it must be something important.

The others seemed to pick up on this. Embry and another captain saw Boulet's discovery and moved closer. More police began to gather around Boulet.

Embry groaned. "Of all the times to get this. Wasn't the rain giving us enough trouble?"

"With the new NOMA exhibit on display, we were due for another notice," Glue Boy replied.

Boulet read the card. "Tomorrow at midnight, I will pay my first visit to the new Pre-Columbian exhibit at the NOMA and steal the Sinti Lapitta Gorget. Let the show begin. Feline Thief C Major."

"Could we check the note for fingerprints?" Cobb asked.

"It's too damp. Besides, we've searched his cards in the past, but we've never found any prints," Boulet replied. "C Major is more cautious than you'd expect."

"Emergency meeting!" Embry commanded. "We need to prepare for Feline Thief C Major right now."

"What's this about C Major?!" Chief Ostinato boomed. He burst through the doors with Sammy hot on his heels. In a moment, he was right beside Boulet. He snatched the note from Boulet's hand. "When did you find this here note?"

"Just a moment ago, chief," Boulet replied. "It fell out of my back pocket, but I'm not sure how it ended up in there."

"Maybe he put it in during the last heist?" Love Tap suggested. "He would've had plenty of opportunities to place it."

Boulet shrugged. "I think I would've found it before now."

"We've been real busy since then," Glue Boy pointed out.

"Either way, we've got a theft to prepare for," Chief Ostinato stated, looking over his police. "For the dignity and pride of New Orleans and the NOPD, we will apprehend that arrogant thief and protect our city!"

The police cheered, clenching their fists and raising their hands in the air. Their deafening enthusiasm filled the room, rebounding off the walls.

...

...

Cobb stuck his head into the hall, looking around. He was the only person in this part of the commissariat. Everyone else was still listening to Chief Ostinato's pep talk; it had been easy to slip out the door without being noticed. He was interested in what the chief had to say, but he wasn't about to let a perfect opportunity go to waste. He walked along, careful that his footsteps didn't make too much noise. _Before I get to work, Sammy asked me to do something important. I'll keep my bargain with Sammy, but if I get in trouble for this, I'll drag him down with me._

Eventually he found a door labeled with a gold sign, "Pierre Samuel Ostinato - Chief of Police". Cobb looked from side to side, then pried open the door. The chief's office was as extravagant as all the new additions he had put in, but much messier. The mahogany bookshelves overflowed with books and folders, and papers littered the Persian rug like autumn leaves on a forest floor. The walls were almost as busy, plastered in photographs, newspaper clippings and framed awards, focusing on Chief Ostinato's arrests and other accomplishments. A painted portrait of him with an ornate golden frame occupied a larger space. Thankfully Chief Ostinato was busy downstairs; it would take Cobb a long time to search through everything to find the chief's schedule, which was what Sammy needed. He went over to the black marble desk. Papers tumbled off the desk as Cobb leafed through. He realized he should be more careful about knocking things over, but he doubted the chief would notice a few papers had fallen amongst the already-existing clutter. Eventually he found a spiral-bound book with "2008" embossed on the front. Cobb opened it up and flipped through the calendar-like pages. This had to be the chief's schedule.

A thin folder lay open on the chief's desk. Cobb figured Chief Ostinato had heard the commotion about C Major and rushed out without putting the file away. Unable to resist his curiosity, Cobb peeked inside it.

Cobb began reading. The first entry was dated not long after Hurricane Katrina. "Two large and mysterious holes were found in the ground in New Orleans. Upon closer examination, both of the holes are not sinkholes; they were methodically carved by machine. Exploration of the holes yielded only one clue: a clipping with this symbol on it." A bag containing a piece of paper was taped in place below the text. Cobb opened it up, handling the plastic bag's edge to remove the earth and water-stained paper inside. There was nothing but a symbol drawn on the paper. A few seconds later Cobb froze, realizing why it looked so familiar.

 _That was the symbol I saw on that girl's saxophone a while back!_ More fascinated than before, he continued reading. "So far nothing has been turned up from the investigation of the holes and the symbol. Mysterious, indeed. All future related files will be categorized under 'Mystère de la Terre'."

 _Mystère de la Terre._ Thoughts whirled in Cobb's head like a swarm of bees as he headed downstairs.

 _The files I found in Chief Ostinato's office, the weird symbol that was on that girl's saxophone, Feline Thief C Major and the Ostinatos' obsession with catching him…New Orleans sure has its share of secrets. The mystery is just beginning and I'm caught in the middle of it._

* * *

I thought it was fitting to end the story on this note. As you'll read in Le Bonhomme du Minuit, unbeknownst to the police or C Major, C Major's theft of the Sinti Lapitta Gorget is the catalyst for a chain of events that will affect the entire city of New Orleans.

I wanted to incorporate C Major's civilian identity, a college boy by the name of Cadence Fortier, somewhere in the story. It was fun to write a scene where Boulet got to have a conversation with Cadence. Despite being on opposite sides of the law, their views about New Orleans are quite similar. This scene was one of those random scenes that popped into my head, and I decided I liked the idea so much I would include it in the epilogue.


End file.
